Trump after conversation with Putin: Negotiations to end the war in Ukraine begin immediately

(Patria) - US President Donald Trump announced today that he agreed with Russian leader Vladimir Putin by phone to "immediately" begin negotiations with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky to end the nearly three-year conflict.

"We will start by calling Ukrainian President Zelensky to inform him of the conversation, which I am about to do right now.

I have asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, National Security Advisor Michael Waltz, and Ambassador and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff to lead the negotiations, which I strongly feel will be successful," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

He did not specify what conditions might be to end the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. However, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth today in Germany at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group dismissed a key demand of Ukraine - eventual NATO membership.

- The United States does not believe that NATO membership for Ukraine is a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement - Hegseth said.

Trump's chief hostage negotiator on Wednesday attributed his "great friendship" with the Russian leader and the Saudi Arabian prince as key to securing the release of American teacher Marc Fogel from Russian custody late Tuesday.

- I think the release of Marc Fogel was critical and that the Russians were very helpful in that effort and very accommodating.

And I think that is perhaps a sign of what the working relationship between President Trump and President Putin will be like in the future and what that can mean for the world as a whole regarding conflicts and so on.

I think they had a great friendship. And I think that will continue now and that is a really good thing for the world - Witkoff said, addressing reporters at the White House.

Late last night, Trump welcomed Fogel to the White House. He had been in custody since August 2021 for bringing medically prescribed marijuana into the country.

- I feel like the luckiest man on Earth right now - Fogel said as he stood next to Trump at the White House.

Trump said he appreciated what Russia did by releasing Fogel to come home, but declined to specify details of any agreement with Russia, calling it "very fair" and very reasonable.

Trump also said another hostage release would be announced today.

Waltz, Trump's national security advisor, said earlier Tuesday that the US and Russia had "negotiated an exchange" for Fogel's release, but did not provide details on what the American side of the agreement entailed.

In such deals in recent years, the US has often released Russian prisoners Moscow wanted in exchange.

Instead, Waltz framed the agreement on Fogel's release in broader geopolitical terms, saying it was "a gesture of goodwill by the Russians and a sign that we are moving in the right direction to end the brutal and terrible war in Ukraine," the invasion Russia launched against its neighbor in February 2022, with hundreds of thousands killed or wounded on both sides.